The Killer's Mark

Washington Poe #8

by M.W. Craven

The next darkly-funny thrill-ride of a book in the bestselling Washington Poe series.

Praise for M W

'Heart-pounding, hilarious, sharp and shocking, Dead Ground is further proof that M.W. Craven never disappoints. Miss this series at your peril.' Chris Whitaker

'Dark and entertaining, this is top rank crime fiction.' Vaseem Khan, Author of the Malabar House series and the Baby Ganesh Agency series

'M. W. Craven is one of the best crime writers working today. Dead Ground is a cracking puzzle, beautifully written, with characters you'll be behind every step of the way. It's his best yet.' Stuart Turton

'Fantastic' Martina Cole

'Dark, sharp and compelling' Peter James

'I've been following M.W. Craven's Poe/Tilly series from the very beginning, and it just gets better and better. Dead Ground is a fast-paced crime novel with as many twists and turns as a country lane. I can't wait for the next one.' Peter Robinson

'Dead Ground is both entertaining and engaging with great characters and storyline. I loved this first dip into the world of Tilly and Poe!' BA Paris

'A brutal and thrilling page turner' Natasha Harding, The Sun

'A thrilling curtain raiser for what looks set to be a great new series' Mick Herron

'A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent. Tightly plotted, and not for the faint hearted!'
David Mark

'A gripping start to a much anticipated new series' Vaseem Khan

'Satisfyingly twisty and clever and the flashes of humour work well to offer the reader respite from the thrill of the read.' Michael J. Malone

'Nothing you've ever read will prepare you for the utterly unique Washington Poe' Keith Nixon

Genres: Thriller, Mystery

469 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication August 13, 2026

About the author

M. W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle, running away to join the army at the tender age of sixteen. He spent the next ten years travelling the world having fun, leaving in 1995 to complete a degree in social work with specialisms in criminology and substance misuse. Thirty-one years after leaving Cumbria, he returned to take up a probation officer position in Whitehaven, eventually working his way up to chief officer grade. Sixteen years later he took the plunge, accepted redundancy and became a full-time author. He now has entirely different motivations for trying to get inside the minds of criminals . . .

M. W. Craven is married and lives in Carlisle with his wife, Joanne. When he isn’t out with his springer spaniel, or talking nonsense in the pub, he can usually be found at punk gigs and writing festivals up and down the country.

Reviews

[Judefire33 · Rating 5 out of 5]

have just finished #The KillersMark by @m.w.craven which is published by Constable/@littlebrownbookgroup_uk in August

As always with Mike's books this installment of the Poe & Tilly series is absolutely superb!
The plot is so unique ( where does he get his ideas from!? ) and the cast of chrachters jump off the page. The Killers Mark is also bloody hilarious! To mix cruelty, gore and dark humour is always superb in my world...i laughed out loud a lot - especially to "Hello, John" .....( gotta new motor!) ... makes sense when you read the book!

There is a underlying theme of family, belonging & love in this latest book and juxtaposed with the gore it really works SO well! I adored one of the new chrachters and hope they will feature in future books... no spoilers!

The pace was fast & gripping and i tried to read slowly because I didnt want the book to end knowing I will have to wait another year to read about my favourite fictional characters!

Ive said it before and I will say it again Mike Craven is simply THE best crime fiction novellist in the UK!!

Thank you so much to @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for sending me an early proof it was immense!

A totally huge 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read! And it just left me wanting to read the next book in the series!!

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

#Booksta #CrimeFiction #CrimeFictionFan #PoeandTilly

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very lucky to bag myself an early proof of this book. This is one of my absolute favourite series and it definitely didn’t disappoint. It was great being back with Poe and Tilly, their partnership is still one of the best things about these books.

Even with the darker themes, there’s still that mix of grit, humour and sharp twists that will keep you reading. The story pulled me in straight away and didn’t let go, with plenty of tension, surprises and a case that, while pretty grim in places, kept me guessing.

Familiar characters and some strong new additions made this another brilliant instalment in a series that never seems to lose its edge.

Already looking forward to the next one 👀

[Lynn Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Killer’s Mark is the brilliant next installment in the Washington Poe series. It could be read as a stand-alone, but I’d highly recommend reading the other books first. They are so good and will make you appreciate this book even more.

It’s everything you want in a Poe book: dark, sharp and funny, with Poe and Tilly at the heart of a disturbing story. I loved the return of familiar characters and enjoyed meeting Esmerée. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK, Constable and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this review copy.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poe and Tilly are back in book 8, no longer in the force Poe is establishing himself as a private investigator. Tilly, being the brains of the operation. When a young girl arrives needing help to find someone what unravels is worse than anyone could think.
Over the last two days I was hooked, briefly interacting with family as I devoured this. The Killer’s Mark does no disappoint and is outstanding! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.